Stains on A Favourite White Shirt
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Oneshot that follows Wonderful World of Children - Mike and Mia's relationship has been a very awkward one since the incident, and Kevin and Emily have had enough of it.


Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers: (Super) Samurai. This is purely fan-made.

The child spell had worn off for a few days now, and everyone in the Shiba House was still getting used to the lack of children, Mia and Serena especially. They were still mothering the Samurai and were finding it hard to go back to being just friends with the grown Samurai.

Serrator's plan had been a good one. If he hadn't underestimated how frustrating and tiresome children were, then he could have managed to flood the earth with the tears of scared and hurt children. But because it had gone so badly for him, it had worked miracles for the Rangers.

Jayden got to live out the childhood he never had, and because of that, he seemed happier and stronger. His bond with Ji had been reinforced, as well as his bond with the team. He had always seen them as his family, but after spending nearly a week with Mike and Kevin as his brothers, and Emily as his little sister, he couldn't stop seeing them that way. And his relationship with Antonio was stronger as well, because they did manage to get a bit of time together, even just as innocent children, where they didn't care what the world thought about them, and where the world didn't think to judge when two boys held hands and enjoyed each other's company. Although they hadn't done anything romantic as children: too innocent to really understand the concept of love, it still helped them grow, and helped them act a little more like kids when they got the spare time to do so.

Kevin and Mia hadn't had gotten the chance to bond like Antonio and Kevin due to Mia not being affected by the Nighlok's spell. Though technically he was an adult, as long as he was in a child's body and had a child's mind, Mia knew he was off-limits to anything that wasn't innocent. She had had a soft spot for him, but aside from that she had treated him just like she treated the other boys. Now that Kevin was back to his proper age, though, they resumed working on their relationship from when the previous Nighlok had screwed them up. Kevin was trying very hard to look at Mia like he used to before she slept with Mike, and Mia was giving him his space when he needed it, and she was being very understanding with his feelings. At the same time, Kevin was working on seeing the truth. He knew Mia loved him. He knew the Nighlok had messed her up, just like he had gotten twisted into thinking he loved Antonio. It was confusing and difficult, but the two of them had promised each other they would work through it.

And being a kid, and remembering Mia had had enough control and sense to keep her hands off him showed Kevin how much she did care for him. In his child state, he knew he wasn't mature enough for any kind of relationship, and if Mia had treated him like anything more than a six year old, or had expected him to see her as a girlfriend, Kevin would have been hurt and confused. It helped him see that it really had been the Nighlok controlling her, and Mia had a good head on her shoulders when she was in control of it – not that he ever expected her not to.

Mike and Emily's relationship was almost completely unaffected. Though the age gap between them had been the same, it was much different when they were younger. Mike had been a child while Emily had been a toddler. They weren't in the same age group and so had been kept at a distance. Emily spent most of her time by herself or with Mia and Serena, while Mike had been playing with the boys.

One relationship that still needed working on, though, was Mike and Mia's. They were civil to each other, but if they were left alone, or too close together for even just a couple of seconds, the tension between them got so thick, walking between them was like walking into a wall.

While Kevin and Emily weren't exactly comfortable with the incident, there were a few things they couldn't deny:

They trusted their partners. They had been reassured that Mia and Mike would never cheat on them again, no matter what.

They wanted their little family of four back. They didn't want to keep Antonio, Jayden, or Serena on the outs, but the four of them had their little family – a family that was important to all of them, and that was in jeopardy if Mike and Mia could fix their relationship.

And finally, they knew Mike and Mia needed to fix their relationship. They needed one another, and had a bond with each other that no one, not even Emily or Kevin could compare to. Mike, though he annoyed Mia on a daily basis, was usually the one to get her to do things she wouldn't normally do. Things that seemed a little reckless or just generally insane, and it brought out a side of her that was more fun. Mia, meanwhile, was a calming presence for Mike. When he was too wound up, she could bring him back to his senses and remind him to think with his head. It was the classic case of big sister-little brother, and it was something they both needed desperately.

Emily was practically pushing Mike into the common room, after letting it slip that she wanted him to talk with Mia alone. He didn't want to go, but when Emily wanted something badly enough, she was extremely strong.

"C'mon, Mike! It won't kill you!"

"It's awkward! Besides, Mia and I are fine…"

"She almost had your baby. There's no way you can be fine," Emily was now pushing against Mike's back with her own, "By the way, lay off the pizzas."

"You can't force these things, Em."

"Obviously not," Emily slipped onto her butt and groaned. Mike turned around. He chuckled as he watched her rub her butt.

"Typical Emily."

"Please, Mike," Emily was begging him at this point. She got up on her knees and held her hands together. She pouted and looked up at Mike with her puppy eyes, "I want my best friend and my boyfriend to be like siblings again."

"Em, don't beg," Mike looked around nervously and grabbed her arm. He lifted her off her knees, "Don't do that, Em. You know we're not like that."

"It would mean a lot to me," Emily continued with the puppy eyes. She knew Mike couldn't resist, "Please, please, please, at least try to talk things out with Mia. It's not like things can get anymore awkward."

"Trust me, they can…"

"Do it, Mike!" Emily stomped her foot and found herself losing her patience, "Dammit, Mike, you messed us all up and now you won't fix it. You screwed Mia, now go unscrew her!"

"I can't unscrew her…"

"There will always be a mark from what happened, but you can always take a screw out. You owe it to me to at least try and fix this!"

Mike gently took her hands to calm her down. He could tell this was important for her. Her family was important to her and that no longer just meant Serena and her parents. It included all the Samurai – Mia especially.

"You're harsh, but you're right," he gave her a kiss on the lips, "I'll try, Em, I promise. Why don't you take Storm for a long walk and we'll see where we're at when you get back."

"A long walk? In this weather? It's really…"

"Here's some money for ice-cream," Mike pulled a couple bills from his pockets and gave them to Emily. She counted them and looked at Mike a little sadly.

"I have to go on a walk by myself? In the big scary city? Me? The small town country girl who's target number one for the Nighlok…"

Mike grumbled as he pulled out a few more bills, "Take Kevin with you. That way he won't bother Mia and I."

"Love you," Emily gave Mike a kiss on the cheek and grabbed Storm's leash from the wall.

Mike shook his head and chuckled as he watched her run out with Storm and Kevin jogging to keep up.

"Sometimes, I think she loves me less than she loves ice-cream," he said. He stepped into the common room and saw Mia was already waiting for him. He took a seat on his stool. "Kevin convinced you too, huh."

"He played the _you-owe-me_ card."

"Em did the same with me. And got ice-cream money out of the whole thing."

"We're supposed to talk about what happened," Mia tried to look at Mike, but couldn't even turn in his direction without feeling sick. She still loved her little brother, but the memories hurt.

"We did talk, remember?"

"We agreed to stay friends," Mia said. "Are you looking at me?"

"Yes," Mike lied. He couldn't look at Mia either.

"Are you looking in my eyes?"

Mike knew she had caught onto his lie. He couldn't answer no because then she would know he wasn't looking at her, and he couldn't answer yes because whether or not she was looking back at him, she would know the truth. He sighed and turned to her, despite wanting to focus on the floor. He saw she wasn't looking at him.

"I made the effort," he told her, "So should you?"

Mia slowly turned and looked up at Mike. Their eyes met and they both immediately blushed and looked away. They sat in complete silence for a long time. Finally, Mia had enough. The silence was even more awkward than talking with Mike.

"Kevin really wants us to go back to normal."

"He really loves you, Mia."

"I meant us. You and me. You're his best friend, Mike. I know you know that, but I don't think you realize what that means to him. He doesn't want his best friend and his fiancée acting like… well, like this. If anything, I want to do this for him. I don't want him having to spend the rest of his life choosing between us because we can't be in the same room together. This isn't his fault. He didn't sleep with Antonio. He didn't do anything to Antonio."

"Emily kissed Jayden…"

"You know that's not the same," Mia looked down at her hands and then, after taking a deep breath, she looked up at Mike, "You were a sweet kid."

Mike furrowed his brow and looked up at her, "Huh?"

"You were kind of twisted, you know. And a little… you were difficult. But you were just trying to have fun. You never wanted to hurt anyone. I was pretty out of it that night we faced the Nighlok, but I did catch a few things. I saw you comforting Emily after the fight. You were gentle with her."

"Mia, it's Emily…"

"A boy had a crush on me when I was your age. He pulled my hair and called me names for weeks. You never did that with Emily. You were always gentle with her."

"Are you really…"

"And you and the boys were pretty passionate about helping me and Serena. Not just when it came to rescuing Emily, but with the Nighlok too."

"Yeah. Me and the boys."

"Michael, you're a good person. You're sweet and… I know you would never hurt me. I do forgive you, Mike, and I want to be friends with you again. I want to be us again… not just for Kevin's sake."

"You're not really the one who got hurt," Mike muttered.

Mia knelt down before him and took his hand, "We talked about that, Mike. You know…"

"Drop it, Mia. I want to be friends with you, but that'll never stop this from being weird. You used me! You…"

"Don't say it, Michael. I had no more of a say in it than you did. Look, I'm sorry and I wish…"

"Stop, Mia…"

"What do you want from me, Mike?" Mia stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, "Do you want me to kick my own ass? I know what I did, and I know if any other girl had done that to you, I'd make sure they were dead. But I can't really do that to myself now, can I?"

"That's why this is complicated, Mia."

"Are you really going to do this? What about Emily, are you going to…"

"Don't bring her into this, Mia," Mike growled and got up to his feet, "You know I would never make her choose…"

"Then look me in the eye for more than five seconds, Michael," Mia grabbed his face and turned his head but Mike pulled away.

"Stop it."

"If you can't do that, how do you expect us to be a family again? How do you expect to never force Emily to choose between the two of us?"

"I said, leave her out of this," Mike growled. He looked at Mia with eyes filled with rage, "You hurt me! At least I actually loved you. The only person _I_ hurt with _my _actions is Emily."

"You hurt Kevin too. And you hurt yourself."

"Shut up!"

"Fine then," Mia held her arms out, opening herself up to Mike, "Hit me. I can't hit myself so you hit me, as hard as you want, wherever you want. I'll protect you from Kevin if he finds out, and I'll make sure Ji doesn't punish you for it. It's me, hitting myself, through you."

Mike clenched his fists. He couldn't say the temptation wasn't there. He started to tremble as his muscles tensed up. He wanted so badly to hurt her.

Mia closed her eyes and braced herself for impact. She knew how to take a punch, but she knew this was going to hurt. She waited for Mike to choose a spot. She waited for his cry. She waited for the pain.

But nothing ever came. She opened her eyes and saw Mike had moved across the room. He was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall. She walked over to him and got down on her knees.

"I'm sorry, Mike. You have no idea how bad I feel. I've hurt you in a way I've never hurt anyone before, and worse than I've ever hurt anyone before."

"You're forgiven," Mike hid his head in his arms.

"Don't shut me out. Please…"

"I'm not shutting you out," Mike whispered. "Fletcher is right – my anger hurts me the most. There's no point being mad at you for something we both had no control over."

"Mike…?"

"Being mad at you isn't going to make me feel better, and it's not going to make the problem go away. It's only going to get worse. I'll start pushing you away and then I'll lose one of my best friends. Two, actually, because I know Kevin will go with you. Emily will be forced to choose, and because I live in anger, she might leave me too. I'll have lost my wife, and maybe even my kids and I'll hate the world and…"

Mike trailed off when Mia wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight, "You mean that much to me too, little brother."

"Thank you, Mia."

"For what?"

"Fletcher taught me that. He reminds me of that every time I see him. I only see him now because you helped me ask him for help. You convinced me it was the right thing to do, and you didn't judge me for it. You wouldn't do that for a lot of people, would you?"

"Well, I hope I'm a good enough person that I would," Mia chuckled jokingly and shook her head, "Of course not, Mike."

"So, I'm special?" Mike smirked proudly and teasingly. "Like, irreplaceable, right? Like, you miss me when I'm not around?"

"Let's not push it," Mia chuckled. "You're irreplaceable like… stains on my favourite white shirt."

"Huh?"

"I can't get rid of you."

"You love me," Mike wrapped his arms around Mia and squeezed her tightly in a hug. Mia tried to crawl away, but Mike was holding too tightly.

"Not at this particular moment," Mia grabbed his arms and tried to pry him off, "Let me go."

"But I'm a stain. You can't get rid of me."

"I can always try bleach," Mia muttered, "Ew, what's that smell?"

"Emily got me before I could shower. It's sweat from training."

"That's disgusting. You're disgusting."

"Like the stains, right?"

"Yeah. Nasty stains."

"That you love?"

"Can you be mad at me, again? Screw Kevin's and Emily's feelings. This is not fun."

As Mia tried to wrestle away from Mike, Kevin and Emily watched from the door. They had gotten back from their walk and were watching their fiancés fight like siblings.

"Maybe our plan worked a little too well," Emily looked up at Kevin. "If it weren't for the clothes, I'd think they were trying again for a baby."

"If they didn't have clothes on, the plan would have backfired," Kevin chuckled. "Or there would be a clothes stealing Nighlok on the loose."

"Don't give them any ideas. Wearing a diaper to bed was bad enough. I've still got diaper rash."

"EW! You kissed me!" Mike cried and wiped his cheek with his hand, "Ugh, pink Ranger cooties! Not cool, Mia!"

Mia jumped to her feet and straightened out her clothes, "Got you off me. Now I'm going to read a book. Don't follow me."

"I have to shower," Mike was rubbing his cheek with his hand, "I can feel the cooties burning into my skin."


End file.
